Letter and bill file



E. O. McVOY.

LETTER AND BILL FILE.

No. 358,870. Patented Mar. 8, 1887.

UNITED dramas Parana rrtcn.

EDMUND O. MOVQY, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

LETTER AND BILL F'lLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358,870, dated March:8, 1887.

Application filed April 7, 1886. Serial No. 198, 076.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND C. MoVo Y, a citizen of the United States,residing at Easton, in the county of Northampton and State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Letterand Bill Files, of whichthe following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in paper-files; and ithas for its objects to provide a compact and efficient device by meansof which the sheets of paper may be punched, bound, locked temporarilyin position, and finally transferred and permanently bound, as morefully hereinafter specified. These objects I attain by the meansillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 representsa perspective view of my improved device complete, and Fig. 2 alongitudinal vertical sectional view thereof.

In the drawings the letter A indicates a flat board or tabletconstructed of any suitable material. Near one end of said board, on itsupper face, is hinged a transverse strip, B, of wood or other suitablematerial, to which are secured the longitudinal parallel wires 0, whichat one end areprovided with punches D, which are adapted to work intothe apertures E in the metallic plate F, secured to the board on theoutside of the hinged strip before mentioned. The said plate is formedwith a flange, G, against which the edge ofthe sheet to be punched isset, the said flange forming a gagefor regulating theposition of thepunctures at the edge of the paper. The wires 0 extend longitudinallyabove the face of the board to near its opposite end,where they areprovided with aflat binding-plate, H, having apertures I, which oversetthe vertical wires K, secured to a removable dovetailed strip, L, whichis detachably confined in a dovetailed groove, M, in the face of theboard. The vertical wires are the same distance apart as thelongitudinal wires 0, so that the paper, when punctured thereby, may besecured over said vertical wires. The dovetailed strip is confined toits seat, when the device is in use, by means of lock levers P, pivotedto the edges of the board. Back of the dovetailed strip is hinged astrip, R, which is held normally in posi ion by a leaf-spring, S, whichbears against one end of (No model.)

the arm WV, secured to the strip and extending through a slot in theboard. The said strip is provided with two transfer arched wires, T,which are normally held in connection with the upper ends of thevertical wires before mentioned, but which can be thrown back from thesamefor the insertion or removal of the sheets, as may be desired.

In order to bind the sheets of paper in a compact body against the faceof the board, the strip B is slotted so as to overset a staple, U,secured to the face of the board, through which a padlock or otherfastening device may be passed to lock the hinged strip and the wires 0down. A screw and thumb-nut, V, may be employed for temporarily lockingthe said strip and wires down, however.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood in connectionwith the above description, and is as follows: To punch the papers thesheets are placed with one edge against the flange G on the plate F, andthe hinged frame B is swung upward,so as to force the punching ends ofthe longitudinal Wires 0 through them, the arched transfer-wires andtheir hinged supporting strip having been turned back for the purpose.The punctured papers are then passed over the vertical wires, so as torest upon the face of the board. The longitudinal wires and bindingplate are brought down upon said papers and locked by the lockingdevices, so as to bind them compactly. \Vhen desired to transfer thepapers temporarily for inspection, the arched wires are thrown back, thelongitudinal wires and binding-plate thrown upward, and the arched wiresagain thrown into normal position,when

the papers can be carried over onto the arched wires. When the verticalwires have received all the papers they are capable of holding, thefastenings holding the dovetailed strip are released and the strip isremoved with the papers to be filed away or permanently bound.

Having thus described my invention, what 7 I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, in a paper-file, of the flat board having a hingedstrip provided with longitudinal wires having projecting punches at oneend, the perforated punch-plate, and the gage-flange, substantially asspecified.

2. The combination, with the hinged strip,

the longitudinal wires and binding-plate, the

vertical wires and their detachable dovetailed strip, of the lockingdevices whereby the parts are clamped upon the papers, substantially asand for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the board having a dovetailed groove across itsface, of the dovetailed strip carrying the vertical wires, and thefastening devices whereby the strip is temporarily held in the groove,substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the board having a dovetailed groove across itsface, of a dovetailed'strip provided with vertical wires, whereby saidstrip may be held firmly to the board, or removed sidewise therefrom atpleasure, substantially as specified.

5'. The combination of the board grooved across its upper face and adovetailed strip provided with "ertical wires with the arched 2otransfer-wires, and the hinged strip to which said wires aresecured,whereby papers filed on thevertical wires may be either removedsidewise from the board or transferred to the arched wires,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I ai'fix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDMUND O. MOVQY.

